Aspire Mailbag: How to Hire Well and Reimagine Student Discipline
In this Aspire Mailbag episode, Joshua Stamper and Jeff Gargas tackle two leadership topics that are on a lot of educators’ minds right now: how to hire great people when applicant pools are shrinking, and how to rethink student discipline in ways that actually build skills. They explore why culture matters in attracting the right…
Aspire Mailbag: Building Trust Through Leadership and Initiative Changes
In this Aspire Mailbag episode, Joshua Stamper and Jeff Gargas respond to listener questions about supporting an aspiring leader through a campus transition and helping teachers shift away from punitive discipline. They explore how new leadership can create both uncertainty and opportunity, and what aspiring leaders can do to build trust, stay visible, and align…
Aspire Mailbag: EQ Over Ego & Navigating School Politics
Aspiring leaders asked: How do you lead with emotional intelligence (EQ) instead of ego, and navigate school politics without getting burned? In this bonus Aspire Mailbag with Jeff Gargas (COO, Teach Better), Joshua Stamper dives into self-awareness, empathy, humility, and building feedback loops to ditch ego-driven decisions for people-first leadership. They also tackle the politics…
Aspire Mailbag: Communication, Culture, and Conflict in School Leadership
How do you lead staff who seem stuck in their ways, resist new ideas, and quietly shut out new colleagues? In this New Year episode of the Aspire Mailbag, Joshua Stamper and longtime co-host Jeff Gargas dig into anonymous listener questions from the Aspire Voxer community about culture, communication, and accountability. Josh and Jeff unpack…
Aspire Mailbag: Trust, Control, and Checking our Ego
Leadership isn’t scripted…and neither is this conversation. In Episode 35 of Aspire Mailbag, Josh Stamper and Jeff Gargas tackle two listener questions that every leader has wrestled with (even if they won’t admit it): 💬 How do you respond when you’re told to do something you’re already doing—without sounding defensive?💬 And how can leaders recognize…